What is right and what is wrong? It is kinda like the Shakespearean dilemma – To be or not to be!
So often I have wondered as to what is the right thing to do and have been deterred by the wrong things more. Maybe it is because the society finds it very easy to label the right from wrong.
And I realize that I have refrained from so many activities cos they have been labeled wrong. Although some of them have helped save my skin, a lot of them have pushed my spirit of adventurism down and I really wonder – does it make sense to battle the right and wrong or just do what we feel right?
Somewhere in these lines, the above quote from Carl Jung makes a bit of sense. Although I am still a newbie to the idea of philosophy of life and have respect for it as a broader subject, the philosophy here is a bit puzzling.
“The pendulum of mind Oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong”
Carl Jung
The pendulum of life oscillates between sense and nonsense. In a stricter aspect, I guess it is very hard to define what is right or what is wrong.
We all have a perception of the world and we all are right in our own ways. If disobeying your parents is wrong for someone, for someone else that is the only way you can reach your deepest dreams of life. For some, it may mean neither, but we are not going to talk about them today.
But what we are trying to say here is – it is very difficult to quantify something as right or wrong. I mean it is easy to say or judge something right or wrong, but we do that only on our scale and whether it makes sense to us or not. If it doesn’t make sense to us, we call it wrong.
But what if there is nothing called right or wrong? What if there is nothing called sense or nonsense? We have been basing that on the collective knowledge of our world. How much of it can we rely on?
What if we tap on to that curiosity at the next level? I do agree that I am touching a question here for which the answer too can be very subjective.
But there is a point we are trying to drive here. So many times, we are trying to wonder what is right or what is wrong. But perhaps the question is a little more different than that. Right or wrong is not for us to decide in the moment, it is about how we place an occurrence in our life
- Does it help us grow?
- What is the implication of this occurrence to my life and my life alone?
- What else can it imply to the ones I love and care for?
- What does it mean in the essence of global good?
We are just talking about your perspective here cos that is all we care about right now. I don’t know how big a debate right or wrong can be. I also know that we cannot completely dissociate ourselves from labeling things as right or wrong. But we can use it at our own judgement and discretion.
I think we are all very well equipped to handle the larger questions or what people call the philosophy of life. The answers might be in just looking at the questions in a slightly different way.
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A concept from Bhagavat geeta which says “There is no 100% right or 100 % wrong thing in this world as everything is illusion and own perception
Brilliant! Thanks for the share Bonnam. I have had huge respect for Bhagawadgita and its philosophy of life. Esp with the Karmayoga which delves into the meaning of action and consequences.Personally I believe it was one of the best motivational and management books ever written :)
I should make ur site as my home page.. and get inspired every day :)
Ha ha. That’s indeed very sweet of you Roohi. I am really happy to know that the daily quote section is catching on really well. I have been a huge fan of subjective idea of life. That is something which the humanities taught me when I was studying. Gosh it sure makes you appreciate life a little better :)
Very sensible post. :)
Thank you Indrani :)
Nice post. Right and wrong are not absolute. What is right today may be wrong tomorrow and vice versa, depending on social perception. That is why wise men say go beyond right and wrong, go beyond relativity. Once one can calm the debate in mind, it may be possible to arrive at correction position, not necessarily the right or wrong position.
Thank you Abhijit. Spot on, there is no absolute truth in this world, everything is an interpretation- even the history and the statistics. I like the coinage – going beyond right and wrong and beyond relativity. Staying above the situation and staying disconnected really helps us connect with the matter and dissociate with a few emotions which may bring the solution down.
Kinda like the karmayoga philosophy of a lotus which lives in water and yet is not affected by its wetness..
Such a nice post Vinay. A great blog to start the day…
Thank you Alok :).. A very good day to you :)